Communicate with them about anything that effects them.

Now that the gov't has decided to reopen (for now), I think it's unwise to assume any payments in March... until we hear official communications stating otherwise.

It you communicate your rental criteria to prospective tenants in advance before accepting an application and application fee (required in Washington State), you would not run into this problem.It's perfectly fine to reject an application or approve it with conditions based on legal rental criteria.You may want to use a standard form, such as an "Adverse Action Notice".Here's some information from the one we use:----------ADVERSE ACTION NOTICEApplicant name ____________Applicant mailing address ___________This notice is to inform you that your application to rent the property located at ______________  has been:[] Rejected[] Approved with conditions:[] Residency requires an increased monthly rent of $_____[] Residency requires increased [] fee or [] deposit of $ _____[] Residency requires last month’s rent[] Residency requires a qualified guarantor[] Other requirementAdverse action on your application was based on one or more of the following:[] Information contained in a consumer credit report *[] The consumer credit report did not contain sufficient information *[] Information received in a criminal record[] Information received in a civil record[] Information received from references[] Information received from previous rental history or reference[] Information received from employment verification[] Inaccurate, false, or misleading statements or missing critical information on the application*If you were rejected based on a consumer credit report, you can request a copy of your credit report for free from the below-checked agency.[] Experian[] Equifax[] TransunionDated this day of ________.Agent/Owner Signature _________

Your intention would be from the communication that you had when you bought the property, or your communication with your contractor, or documented in your overall business plan or LLC operating agreements and stuff. 

Since this was an "arm's length" deal and the owner was experiencing some financial issues of his own, I add value to the deal by keeping continuous open communication and essentially, giving him some earnest money to help him through the process.

In a similar vein, more communication.

Respectful communication is key.

I haven't been to the property yet, but in talking with his daughter who has communicated with him (he's elderly and she'll be there to be sure we communicate clearly), he has 18-20 acres of planted pine that is 19-20 years old. 

Is this normal, or should I be getting regular communications?

Your contractor should have at least communicated this with you when before incurring the cost of the extra material, best practices is to provide you with a change order as an amendment to the contract.